Afghanistan will field a minimum of two spinners against the India cricket team for the IND vs AFG 2nd T20I. Despite Rashid Khan missing out, the Pathans have two replacement wrist spinners in their squad, Qais Ahmad and Noor Ahmad. The duo, combined with Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi, can cause immense trouble to Virat Kohli, who has struggled against spin of late.
Kohli used to be a master against spin. However, ever since he hit rock bottom in 2020, his record against them has been below par. His difficulty against them at home in Test matches forced him to change his technique.
Since he has tinkered with his technique, his average against them has improved, allowing him to stay in the middle for lower in Test cricket but affecting him in the shorter formats.
While ODIs have given him ample time to work the bowlers out, T20 cricket forces him to get out of his comfort zone. This is where the star batter gets caught lacking.
Virat Kohli’s poor numbers vs spin
As mentioned above, his slump forced him to change his method against spin bowlers. Since then (2020), Virat Kohli has struggled against spinners in the IPL.
In the last four editions of the IPL, Kohli has scored just 697 runs against spin. Although he averages nearly 50 against spin, he strikes at a meager 108.39. This means that Virat Kohli gets struck in the middle against spin; he neither gets out nor does he score against them.
These numbers suggest that Kohli batting in the middle overs against spinners is a disastrous match-up for him. The question now is: will he be able to counter the Afghanistan spin threat on his return to T20I cricket after two years?
| Innings | 44 |
| Balls | 643 |
| Runs | 697 |
| Average | 49.78 |
| Strike Rate | 108.39 |
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